“Death of a Poet”

roped weeds green with sophistication
life-like dollies playing charades in a nightmare
you called through a forest fire, cracked voice shaking
I waited for validation from the world
see me exist inside your fantasies
and I’ll play a song that can be sung for a long time
soundtracked lifetimes shaded and still
room to hide in the corner of my soul
get taken back to your favorite birthplaces
assured that you won’t remember a thing once you leave
teeth biting into your brain
the beginnings and endings blur into the same
you shoot yourself for seeing too much
and I cry for ages, running out of luck
golden shimmer sun morning rain
I walk alongside the lonely shore
touching my hand to the sand and ocean
a breath of air that houses itself in my lungs
playing through the precocious scenes
little dada paintings remind me of forgotten dreams
I twist into the black hole of a blender
pieces chop-chop and fly alive
writing another chapter on an empty slate
blood on rocks, tears on the border
slipping to my feet and passing away down the road
like the fading sun as nighttime comes to life
   --december 14, 2002